According to an unnamed source in the Interdepartmental Commission (IDC) quoted by the Russian online newspaper Kommersant, the most probable cause of the failure is a mechanical damage to a Briz-M engine fuel line after the second burn.According to the same source the ban on Proton-M/Briz-M launches will be lifted before the end of next week.http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1998005 (in Russian)

That was a pretty good article, though based on an anonymous source. One interesting statement was that the suspect fuel line was removed and replaced at the launch site during the recent delay and troubleshooting. The source said the commission was looking into whether this led to gasket problems. FOD was considered unlikely.

Added: By implication, I think we are talking about a line on the Breeze M (Khrunichev responsibility), since as I recall most of the lines on the engine proper are welded.

You may have a point but in the case of Luch-5A/Amos-5 launch on December 11, 2011, the spacer was apparently not catalogued but it was catalogued for the SES-3/Kazsat-2 launch on July 15, 2011 and identified as such "BREEZE-M DEB (ADAPTOR) "; the APT is normally identified as such "BREEZE-M DEB (TANK)"

An RCS of 4.4mē for the present BREEZE-M DEB seems to indicate an APT and not an adaptor (resp. 5.184mē and 0.003mē for the SES-3/Kazsat-2 launch)

You may have a point but in the case of Luch-5A/Amos-5 launch on December 11, 2011, the spacer was apparently not catalogued but it was catalogued for the SES-3/Kazsat-2 launch on July 15, 2011 and identified as such "BREEZE-M DEB (ADAPTOR) "; the APT is normally identified as such "BREEZE-M DEB (TANK)"

An RCS of 4.4mē for the present BREEZE-M DEB seems to indicate an APT and not an adaptor (resp. 5.184mē and 0.003mē for the SES-3/Kazsat-2 launch)

It is odd that the Briz-M suffered an abort but still proceeded to jettison the tank? Normally that would involve use of the four low-thrust settling/attitude control thruster units.

"Contact with the satellite has been established and is being sustained," the Reshetnev rocket company, which built the craft, said in a press release. "The satellite is oriented toward the sun. A positive energy balance is being maintained onboard. The craft's solar panels have been opened."

Maybe it's just too small, for a piece of composite. The 0.003 m^2 equivalent corresponds to a metal ball about the size of a fist. It's a marvel that something like that can even be detected by a radar on the ground.